Some dragonflies at a pond in St. Petersburg, Russia, 13 August, 2007

Here are some photos taken at a pond near the Neva River Riverboat Port in St. Petersburg, Russia.  I did not have a macro lens, and it was windy, so some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy, having been taken with a 200 mm lens with a 2x extender with a strobe flash.

The most common dragonflies at the pond were female Aeshna grandis, ovipositing at the pond edges.  They were so focused on their egg laying that I was able to approach and pick up a female (I had no net with me).  I saw a couple of males patrolling the pond margins briefly.

Left below - Sympetrum flaveolum male; right below - Sympetrum danae female.

Right: A male Lestes sponsa damselfly.

Left - a male Sympetrum species.

Below: The temperature was approaching 90 degrees F while we were in St. Petersburg, and every day was sunny - this brought out Russian sunbathers to every pond margin and riverbank in the city, and ocassionally distracted even the most dedicated  dragonfly photographer from his appointed work...